Daytona 500: Newman - Media Day visit

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
February 5, 2009
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at
Daytona International Speedway and discussed his Daytona 500 win from
last year,...

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
DAYTONA MEDIA DAY
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
February 5, 2009

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY IMPALA SS, met with members of the media at
Daytona International Speedway and discussed his Daytona 500 win from
last year, not racing in the Shootout, the top-35 rule and much more.

ON HOW HE FEELS HE WILL RUN BEING WITH A NEW TEAM FOR 2009 "I
think with our resources from a mechanical standpoint and our resources
from a personnel standpoint that we will be competitive right out of the
box and we'll be competitive throughout the season. I feel we
should without any doubt have an opportunity to be in the Chase. That
opportunity is up to us to succeed."

ALL THE TEAMS ARE SAYING THE SAME THING SO WHAT MAKES YOUR TEAM
DIFFERENT? "Because of the people. I mean if you take the
mechanical resource part of it, it can be exactly the same. You can see
that within the own mother ship with Hendrick, the No. 5 car last year
didn't do what the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon), No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson)
and the No. 88 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) did so that's not just a
satellite team situation it's a personnel situation."

YOU'VE WON A LOT OF DIFFERENT RACES THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER, CAN YOU
DESCRIBE WHAT ITS LIKE TO WIN THE DAYTONA 500? IS THAT A DIFFERENT
FEELING FROM WINNING ANOTHER RACE? "It is. I mean it's the
ultimate in my opinion. To me it was, I stated it before and people have
asked me how long did it take to sink in and it didn't. It
happened as soon as I crossed the start/finish line. I knew what I had
achieved as a person. I knew the effort that it took by all the people
around me throughout my racing career to help me get to that point. The
people that bought my first uniform owned a Pizza King in South Bend,
Indiana gave us I think it was $400 dollars, those people. The people
that bought me a right rear midget tire for Christmas. Just the people
that gave us credit cards to use for gas to get back and forth to
Phoenix. All those people I feel were part of the team that got me to
victory lane that day and that's what was really special. That was
special that race because of the importance of that race verses Loudon or
Charlotte or Pocono or whatever."

IS THERE ANY OTHER WIN THAT STANDS OUT IN YOUR MIND? "The All-Star
race was really special because that was the race we weren't
expected to win which was kind of like Daytona. We weren't even in
the race to begin with. We beat everybody at the home field on a given
night and we did it because of the pride and the money not because of the
points and there's a lot to be said about that."

IF YOU GUYS DON'T TEST WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE TO
THE POINT WHERE YOU NEED TO BE, WHAT TELLS YOU YOU'RE GOOD?
"It's kind of unique because it kind of got to a point where teams had to
have test teams and teams had to have a separate group of people to do these
things and now we're not testing and as I felt always before, 90 percent of
your performance was based on the work that got done in the shop not the
work that got done during a test, the work that was done by a test team. It
was getting to a point as drivers we weren't even going to a test, the test
team drivers were doing it.
Then you get a mixture of feedback and a combination of questions that go
along with what was he feeling? Is Ryan going to feel the same thing?
I feel that it's back to old school racing. You run what you
brung. You show up, you have your stuff ready and the guy that is most
ready will probably win."

HOW MUCH IS SIMULATION THE SAME? "Well simulation is just another
tool for homework. It's the modern day calculator for race teams.
What we do with our simulations is just another way of preparing for the
race. It's another way of getting ready and doing the homework for
the next test or the next quiz. Its just practice for qualifying in my
opinion."

YOU SAID THE DIFFERENCE WAS THE PEOPLE, YOU WERE WORKING WITH ROGER
PENSKE AND ALL . . . "You can have the best people in the world and
if you don't have the chemistry and the relationships to go along
with it then you have I won't say nothing but then you don't
have what you want. I look forward to starting that opportunity all over
again. I kind of halfway quoted somebody, I don't remember the
exact quote but the bottom line is it's impossible to start a new
beginning but you can begin to start a new ending. I feel that is what I
have in my career to be able to build on the things that I haven't
accomplished and try to achieve those things with a group of people that
is searching for the same thing."

HOW MUCH OF A HANDICAP IS IT NOT BEING IN THE SHOOTOUT? "Well
it's only half because Tony is in it. To me personally it's
only half of a handicap but I think that I have the confidence, the car
and the people. We can unload in race trim on Wednesday or whatever it
is and be ready to be a Gatorade Duel winner on Thursday."

DOES IT BOTHER YOU WITH BEING THE LAST YEAR'S DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION
THAT YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO RACE IN THE SHOOTOUT? "I'm not
happy with the way they organized the Shootout. If we're going
back to last year we made this statement that we're going back to
racing old school and some of the old school things, going back to the
old school fans. I don't see that in the formation of the new
Shootout. To me, it's a thank you pat on the back to the
manufacturers out there which in the end doesn't make it the ideal
race in my opinion."

HOW IS THIS ECONOMY AFFECTING YOUR TEAM AND AFFECTING THE SPORT AND HOW
WORRIED ARE YOU ABOUT IT? "I hear everybody complain and I mean
everybody complain about how bad the economy is and I don't think
it's that bad. I think it's just not as good as it was. I
think that everybody from an organizational standpoint whether its
NASCAR, Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick or Roush whatever has to keep their
pencil sharp and put themselves in a position to where they can be strong
for the future. I think the economy is going to have more of an effect
six months from now than
it will now. If the economy is as bad as everyone says it is then
realistically we are living off of our reserves whether it's
financially or whatever and we'll have to see who has the biggest
stockpile of reserves. I'm no economic adviser but that's
just my gut hunch about it."

HAS THAT AFFECTED PEOPLE? "I think it's mentally affected
everybody more than it has physically. Maybe this is my opinion but when
we go to the gas station and we can't get a gallon of gas and a
gallon of milk then the economy is really hurting. Now gas is half of
what it was last fall when the economy was good and there's no
shortage of milk. I mean how bad is it really? That's just my gut
feel. And I'm probably a little naïve from the standpoint that I
think NASCAR spoils you a little bit. Spoils me personally, you know my
lifestyle is not the same as somebody that is greeting at Wal-Mart but in
the end I don't think the economy is that bad. The cream is always
going to rise to the top and I just think it separates it off from the
weak individual. It's like a minor plague I guess."

ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THE DRUG POLICY? "I don't
have concerns about that but I know a friend of mine was questioned after
he was tested and come to find out it was because he eats poppy seed
bagels every morning. Who would have thought that? No matter what the
banned substances are I don't worry about that. I don't take
substances to have to worry about that personally. What I would be
worried about is what you could combine not just over the counter but
food-wise to set off the system. I'm glad that NASCAR is doing it
and I hope they continue to refine it to the point that the entire garage
can be drug-free and eventually because of that the entire grandstand
will be drug-free. I've never drank in my life and I've
never done anything to become high in my life so I'm a little
different than your average driver or person."

EARLIER DID YOU CALL HENDRICK THE MOTHER SHIP? "Well I was
referring to not from our standpoint but from a big group stand point.
Roush is another mother ship, there's different ways of looking at
it."

HOW MUCH STRONGER ARE THEY WITH MARK MARTIN ON BOARD, IS IT A
YANKEE'S TYPE LINE UP NOW? "No, I wouldn't say that.
I think Mark brings different things to the table from the experience
standpoint that another driver may not have or could have but in the end
as I've said before it's not just about Mark Martin it
wasn't just about Casey Mears and it wasn't just about Kyle
Busch it was about the people that surround him and as an organization
you can only be so strong. You look at what they did last year it was
still pretty amazing."

SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN THE CAR AND DIFFERENT SPONSORS THIS YEAR, DO
YOU HAVE TO MAKE A MENTAL NOTE OF WHO IS IN WHAT CAR? "No
because you're still racing the cars and you are partially racing
the driver's but you still have to put yourself in the position to
go around them."

DON'T YOU RACE SOME PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHERS? "You
figure that out as a driver pretty quick. You're only responsible
for knowing 42 other people so that's not the rocket science part
of it. Because of the economy or the sponsors or whatever doesn't
change the way you race people or change the way that you think about
racing people."

WITH ALL THE CHANGES FROM LAST YEAR DO YOU APPROACH THIS YEAR'S
RACE ANY DIFFERENTLY? "I feel that going into this year that
I'm trying to achieve the same things that I did last year.
It's like I don't even take into account what I did last
year. I'm still as dedicated and have the same drive that I had
last year having not won it. I don't see it changing me or the way
I driver the race or race anybody else I just see the perception of me
change because I have won the race."

YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT YOU CAN HAVE THE BEST EQUIPMENT AND THE BEST
PEOPLE, WHEN YOU START A NEW TEAM WITH A NEW OWNER AND A NEW CREW HOW
SOON CAN YOU GUYS BUILD THAT CHEMISTRY? "You don't know
that. It happens. It happened with me in 2001 basically with Matt
Borland and Michael Nelson and that group of guys. It just happens.
There's no boiling the water and waiting for it to mix.
There's none of that. It just happens. I don't see it
being anything special other than it just happening. It's tough to
explain. Without sounding like a nerd, a long equation you've got
this formula and you have so many variables that are mixed up in that
formula and you have the car and the people and the chemistry and getting
to the race track, there's a million plus variables out there and
if you just miss one of them you have to compensate with the other.
Chemistry is the one thing that stands, that no matter what your people
are or who your people are or how smart they are, no matter how good your
car turns left and goes forward if you don't have that chemistry
you're not going to have the right calls. It's like having
the best gun in the world and not being able to aim it correctly.
That's what that chemistry does for you."

WHEN CAMERAS ARE RIDING WITH YOU CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT YOU FEEL THAT THE
CAMERAS CAN'T? "It's tough. That's a good
question. I guess the sense of speed from 140 miles per hour on up you
don't feel a change. The sense of closeness, it's no
different than being on the interstate. What you really have to put in
perspective is being on the edge. I would expect anybody that's
been to war or anything like that knows what it's like to be on
edge and knows what it's like to be close, knows what it's
like to have a shell whistle past your head or something like that. You
have to know that edge. That's what separates what we do at 180
miles per hour with the people that are running 105 miles per hour at a
local short track. It's everything to the next degree, to the
highest degree."

YOU'RE A FAIRLY SMART GUY RIGHT OR WRONG, HAVE YOU TRIED FIGURING
OUT THE WHOLE TOP-35 SITUATION THIS YEAR, WHO IS IN AND WHO IS OUT?
"No, it gets crazier every year and honestly I shoot myself in my
own foot by saying it I wish it wasn't the top-35. I think you
could take the top-10, 15 or 20 and then make everybody else race their
way in. We're here to race."

EVEN IF IT INVOLVED YOU HAVING TO RACE YOUR WAY IN? "Absolutely.
That's why I said I'm kind of shooting myself in my own
foot. We're here to race. You should be here to race your way
into the race. That's how it all starts. That's how
it's always started and part of that has been taken away.
There's still a group of people that are racing their way in but I
don't think that you should be locked in. I'm guessing if
you ask Tony Stewart the same question he would say the same thing in
reference to the champions provisional. He rather race his way into a
race and be deserving of it than to be locked in because of what he
achieved in the past."

IT'S NOT JUST THAT IT'S PEOPLE SELLING POINTS, SELLING THE
TOP-35 POSITIONS. "It's become a business. You saw what
Bill Davis and Penske did here in the last week. It's just things
you wouldn't expect. People talk about how bad the economy is, it
must not be that bad."

IS THERE A NEED TO HAVE THE SPONSOR'S PROTECTED WHEN IT COMES TO
QUALIFYING? "That's why I said you do 10, 15, 20 or whatever
but 35 you're only allowing eight people to race their way in.
There would be much more drama and much more excitement if there were 23
of them racing their way in."

WE HAD A GUY LITERALLY FIND OUT THIS MORNING THAT HE WAS LOCKED IN FOR
THE FIRST FIVE RACES AND HE COULD STILL GET BUMPED OUT IF SOMETHING WAS
TO HAPPEN. "That's not the way racing is supposed to be in
my opinion."

HAS ANYBODY ASKED ABOUT THE HAND YET? "No, do you want to know? I
have a big fireplace in my house and I built the heat exchanger. So I
have a pipe that pushes air out of my subfloor in my house. It goes up
into the fireplace because fireplaces are very inefficient. I just built
a heat exchanger which is just bumper pipe, two and one half inch bumper
pipe and it blows air out into the house. I have a screen in the front
of the fire place that's got some vertical bars, those pipes were
just a little off-set so I hadn't put all the braces in yet and I
put a pipe inside the bumper pipe and was pushing it to bend it to
straighten it out to get them perfectly lined up. Well that pipe slid
in, that's a two and half inch pipe right there. I just missed
this part of my hand."

TRYING TO USE THE ENGINEERING DEGREE. "Trying to."

ITS JUST THE COORDINATION WAS OFF. "But in the end I have 370
degree air coming out of my fire place in my house."

JUST DON'T GET TOO CLOSE TO IT. "It's not as hot as
you think."

WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO WATCH THE SHOOTOUT? ARE YOU GOING TO WATCH FROM
TONY'S (STEWART) BOX? "It will be somewhere around
Tony's box or his trailer or whatever. It will probably be on pit
lane with checking out his tires and things like that."

IS IT BOTHERSOME THAT YOU WON'T BE RACING? "It would be
bothersome if I thought the way the system was, was based off of racing.
But people getting into it because the seat that they're in is not
the way I think it's supposed to be. You don't change teams
and end up with Derek Jeter's number and end up in the All-Star
game. You don't do it."

WHAT WILL YOU WATCH FOR AND TRY TO LEARN? "I feel like I can learn
half as much as I did before. We'll have the information from
Tony's (Stewart) car and obviously the Hendrick cars but I want to
be able to feel it firsthand. You know Wednesday is going to be very
important for us from a race trim standpoint and a people standpoint
making sure that we're competitive."

WHEN YOU CAME TO NASCAR YOU DIDN'T NECESSARILY BEHAVE LIKE A SHY
ROOKIE ON THE TRACK, YOU DIDN'T LET ANYBODY PUSH YOU AROUND AND
INTIMIDATE YOU. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SCOTT SPEED? "I think
Scott did a really good job last year racing. He was very respectful, he
did a good job. In reference to the give and take part of racing which
is something I didn't learn off the bat, Tony and I even had our
differences on that. We weren't raised that way, we never knew the
concept of it at least I didn't and he out teached me. I think
Scott did a good job last year. I don't see him being any
different this year than last year."

AS THE NEW CAR HAS EVOLVED, DO YOU FEEL LIKE THOSE WITH DIRT EXPERIENCE
HAVE AN ADVANTAGE BEING ABLE TO DIAL IT IN? "I think the dirt
experience helps a little bit but anybody that's driven a race car
a lot and has been competitive and has won has driven a car that is
loose. So anybody that has done that is probably here. To me Carl
Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch are some of the best at doing it.
Ironically they are the three that won the most races last year.
Obviously you have to have the equipment, that's the most
important part of being able to drive that car loose because it's
got to be fast. You can be loose and still be slow. I experienced that
last year. The bottom line is I feel like it definitely helps but no
matter who you are or no matter where you come from there's always
those drivers that make it to the top that can drive a car loose. Clint
Bowyer for instance came from dirt Late Models, its dirt but he can run a
car loose. Jeff Gordon, he came from open-wheel racing and he
doesn't like to run a car as loose as Jimmie Johnson does.
It's a known fact. It's a personal preference in reference
to the ability at the same time."